However, the 22-year-old came under fire for his ‘on-track aggression’ as he fought his way into the top ten, where he eventually caused Ryan Blaney to spin out after he bumped him.
Hocevar’s antics caught the attention of the seventh-place finisher in Atlanta, Busch, who launched a scathing rant at the youngster which was captured in an onboard radio message.
Ryan Blaney was on the receiving end of Carson Hocevar's aggressive tactics in AtlantaChristopher Bell won the Ambetter Health 400
Busch launches astonishing rant at Hocevar
Busch delivered a foul-mouthed rant over Hocevar’s moves, and even threatened to wreck the whole field in an angry tirade.
"Go tell that 77 he's done that same f*****g move ten times," Busch fumed.
"I don't care if I wreck the whole f*****g field, I'm over him.
"He's a f*****g d*******g, I'm going to wreck his ass."
Speaking after the race, Busch appeared more measured but continued to criticize the young driver for his aggressive racing style.
“He wasn’t even clear on me, I had to lift and he put me in the fence off of two in the first stage, he’s just trying to plug holes and do it last second and last minute and creating log jams on back.
“Do it at the end, do it in the last 30 laps not in the first 230.”
“He had a fast car and he was doing a lot of moves with it to get himself into position, he came from behind me when they stopped for tires and we didn’t, so he had a fast car.
“It’s also just circumstantial of where we’re all at in today’s age with the cars, we’re all given the same stuff and he’s making a lot of bold moves to just try and make the most of it.”